Friday, 25 May 2012

Diane Keaton Biography: Diane Keaton (born Diane Hall January 5, 1946) is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970. Her first major film role was as Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather (1972), but the films that shaped her early career were those with director and co-star Woody Allen beginning with Play It Again, Sam in 1972. Her next two films with Allen, Sleeper (1973) and Love and Death (1975), established her as a comic actor. Her fourth, Annie Hall (1977), won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Keaton subsequently expanded her range to avoid becoming typecast as her Annie Hall persona. She became an accomplished dramatic performer, starring in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and received Academy Award nominations for Reds (1981) and Marvin's Room (1996). Some of her popular later films include Baby Boom (1987), Father of the Bride (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), Something's Gotta Give (2003) and The Family Stone (2005). Keaton's films have earned a cumulative gross of over USD$1.1 billion in North America. In addition to acting, she is also a photographer, real estate developer, author, and occasional singer.

Early life and education

Keaton was born as Diane Hall in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Dorothy Deanne (née Keaton; 1921–2008), was a homemaker and amateur photographer; her father, Jack Newton Ignatius Hall (1921–1990), was a real estate broker and civil engineer. Her father, from Nebraska, came from an Irish-American Catholic background, and her mother, originally from Kansas, came from a Methodist family. Keaton was raised a Methodist by her mother. Her first ambition to become an actor came after seeing her mother win the "Mrs. Los Angeles" pageant for homemakers. Keaton has said that the theatricality of the event inspired her to become a stage actor. She has also credited Katharine Hepburn, whom she admires for playing strong and independent women, as one of her inspirations.